Shooting suspect pleads not guilty

The man arrested Monday for the killing of a Pizza X driver had his first appearance in court for the case Wednesday.

James D. Finney, 21, was charged with murder and two class C felonies for carrying a handgun without a permit.

In an initial hearing Wednesday, Finney pleaded not guilty. He has been appointed a public defender.

Finney was arrested early Monday in connection to an area shooting spree that ended in the death of Pizza X delivery driver Adam Sarnecki, 22.

Police said they also suspect Finney of two other recent crimes involving firearms.
On Oct. 31, a 60-year-old woman was shot in the thigh while taking her dog for a walk on West Ninth Street. Police found the bullet was from a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun.

A day earlier, a man broke into the Smoke-N-Lotto Specialty Store located on South Leonard Springs Road in rural Monroe County. He allegedly gained access by shooting his way through the glass entryway, said Mike Pershing, chief deputy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Sarnecki was shot shortly after midnight Friday. Police said Sarnecki told officers he witnessed someone trying to break into another employee’s vehicle behind the south side Pizza X store where he worked. Police said Sarnecki confronted the suspect, who then shot him.

Before losing consciousness at the scene, Sarnecki provided police with a description of the shooter.

Sarnecki died from the injury at 4:40 a.m. at IU-Health Bloomington Hospital.
Beginning early Friday evening, police initiated around-the-clock surveillance of Finney at a mobile home on West Lilac Lane after he was identified as a suspect, Bloomington Police Chief Mike Diekhoff said.

At that time, police did not have enough evidence to make an arrest, but officers considered Finney to be dangerous because of his past criminal record, Diekhoff said.
He has been previously charged with battery resulting in bodily injury, intimidation and theft, as well as minor charges. 

After obtaining a search warrant, police arrested Finney at about 3 a.m. Monday. He was booked in the Monroe County Jail at 7:23 a.m., where he remains without bond.
Finney’s next court appearance is set to be a pretrial conference at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 9, 2012.

— Charles Scudder